Fossilized poo reveals ancient ecosystem
source: http://www.livescience.com/animals/090717-mega-dung.html
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- DeliaTheArtist
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"Traces [in the fossilized dung] record the behavior of animals actively stealing the food resources set aside by the dung beetles," said Victoria Sanchez, a graduate student at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Buenos Aires and a co-author on the study. "The shapes and sizes of these fossilized burrows and borings in the dung balls indicate that other beetles, flies and earthworms were the culprits. Although none of these animals are preserved in these rocks, the fossil dung balls preserve in amazing detail a whole dung-based ecosystem."
About 30 million years ago, South America was home to giant extinct herbivores that produced mega-sized dung. Paleontologists have dug up evidence of bone-covered armadillos the size of small cars, ground sloths nearly 20 feet tall (6 meters tall) and elephant-sized hoofed mammals.
Although the dung beetles themselves did not fossilize, the results of their work are preserved as fossil dung balls, some more than 40 million years old and as large as tennis balls, the researchers said."
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Ian_Monet
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@yvesisaki: Absolutely, this happens now! ×_o (It's a sarcastic punch in the face that denotes an obvious duh.)
The greater interpretation from this particular evidence is that ecosystems, even at the microscale, are essential actors in the development and stasis (health) of their larger environments. We'd probably have more or larger rainforests if it weren't for all the deforestation and lesser reseeding our ancestors felt it so necessary to maintain. But then, they also shouldn't have been wiping out other animal populations either.
- 2 years ago
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Ian_Monet
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larrysnotes
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We can still step in it 10,000 years from now. damn.
- 2 years ago
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larrysnotes
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bailey78
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You should see the dung bettles at work in the yard right now. them some hard working bugs.
- 2 years ago
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bailey78
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Einsam_Data_Old [removed]
- This comment was removed as a violation of community guidelines.
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Einsam_Data_Old [removed]
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DeliaTheArtist
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Einsam_Data_Old:
Maybe no big deal, but I still think it's pretty cool!
- 2 years ago
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DeliaTheArtist
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GreenScreenCinema
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You mean my little sister's diapers should be saved for future study?
- 2 years ago
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GreenScreenCinema
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